The New Economy

I recently had the opportunity to attend the New Economy Coalition’s CommonBound Conference in Buffalo, New York. I’ve never been to this conference, but it was one of the most diverse (in almost every way) events I’ve ever been to. Unfortunately, this conference took place after the horrific events of the July 4 week, namely the Philando Castile shooting in Minnesota, the Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge, and the five police officers shot in Dallas. However, these events provided the reminder that we have a long way to go to enjoy a new economy that benefits all. I learned about some unique initiatives like the Boston Ujima Project (https://www.facebook.com/bostonujimaproject/) which is organizing, neighbors, workers, business owners and investors to create a community-controlled economy in Greater Boston.

Over the past several years, I’ve been involved in a group of caring, intelligent people moving the WealthWorks approach to economic development forward. For more information, find the WealthWorks tab on this site. At the CommonBound event, we were able to bring our network of regional hubs together to discuss the future of WealthWorks and what we can each do to move this framework forward. There were colleagues from all over the country, from places like Oregon, Utah, North Carolina, Arkansas, Maryland, Washington DC, Ohio, Minnesota, and of course Vermont. I’m excited about the progress we made and am excited to be a part of it. I’ll be hoping to spread the WealthWorks framework throughout New England.